Marriage Proposal: How to Do it in Style

Nothing makes a man more nervous than a marriage proposal, nothing!

Nobody knows what freaks them out the most: the idea of kneeling down (possibly in front of a crowd), the thought of the proposal being mediocre after so much effort was put it in or worse, rejection. All we know is they really get the jitters when thinking of proposing. Not to worry guys, help has come.

Well first, here are the main ingredients for an effective proposal:

* A plan

* A location

* An engagement ring

* Lots of love :)

Allow me paint these real life scenarios for you:

Much to her dismay, Oluchi woke up sick on valentines day. instead of being spoiled silly in bed, she was dragged to a restaurant for dinner. It didn’t take long before she choked on something sparkly in her salad. We all know what is was...

Ella had gone out with her man to a very cosy restaurant and it seemed like the cook had nothing on the menu. Infuriated she asked her boyfriend to order for her and when her order came it was a heart smiley made with ketchup and a huge diamond ring in the middle.

Uyai walked out on her boyfriend at a party after he had deliberately annoyed her over and over again without any plausible reason in the presence of his best friend. When His best friend calmed her down and took her back in to the party, guess who was kneeling down with a rock and a huge grin in the presence of over 50 people?

Ope got a message around 11pm from her beloved asking her to check a very hilarious video on youtube. Her ipad was down and she told him she'd check it the next day but he insisted and drove all the way from ikeja to Ikoyi to show her the video himself. When the video started playing he stepped out of the car; it was a video of him holding a placard with the words "Please don’t say no when i ask you to marry me tonight". (My personal favourite).

Remember, the key to every proposal is uniqueness. you dont want your girlfriend reading about a similar proposal to hers online or worse, having a friend that was once proposed to in the same way. Hopefully these stories will inspire you to rack your brain and think of something delightful and if you still cant, steal one of my 10 wonderful ideas below:

1. Take out a full-page ad in a newspaper you know your girlfriend reads daily.

2. Send your girlfriend on a treasure hunt. Start with a clue at home; then send her on a tour of all the rooms in your house (you can use a friend's bigger house if yours is small). When she gets to the last hint, the prize should be you on one knee.

3. Go out for a night of dancing and ask the DJ to pass you the mic so you can dedicate a song and propose on the dance floor.

4. Flying anytime soon? Use the plane's loudspeaker system (of course, run your plan by the flight attendants first) and propose at 35,000 feet.

5. Gather a bunch of your friends and family for a party. Have everyone in attendance put on a T-shirt bearing one of the letters in the phrase "Will you marry me?" When you walk into the room with your girlfriend, suggest a group picture and let the shirts speak for themselves.

6. Turn off all the lights in your apartment and make a trail of candles that leads to a circle of flowers positioned around the ring.

7. Slip the ring on her finger while she's sleeping and wake her with champagne and strawberries. At first, the gesture will simply seem romantic -- the real surprise comes when she notices her new piece of jewelry.

8. Tie a red-velvet ribbon from one spot in your home to another. Attach little notes recalling perfect moments in your relationship along the way. You wait at the last stop, ring in hand.

9. Take the scavenger hunt high-tech: Send your mate a text message leading her to a secret spot. Keep her engaged by text messaging her sweet nothings along the way (and directions, of course) as you lead her to you, on bended knee.

10. Ask a baker to make a cake with the proposal written in frosting. Have him display it in the storefront and suggest a little window-shopping to your girlfriend.